r/recreationaltherapy

Hey everyone,

I’m in my 40s and looking for some career advice from fellow recreation therapy professionals or anyone in the community support field.
For the past 10 years, I’ve worked in community support helping individuals with disabilities. I hold an Educational Support Certificate and Autism Certificates, as well as an older Business Diploma. Currently, I work as a Day Program Assistant for a truly wonderful organization. My day-to-day role is essentially recreation therapy, and I’ve absolutely fallen in love with this line of work.
Because I love it so much, I’m looking into upgrading my education. Since I already have a prior college diploma, I qualify for the online, 1-year Fast-Track Recreation Therapy program at Canadore College.

Here is my dilemma: I love my current company and have zero plans to leave them. Furthermore, I have absolutely no interest in working in hospitals or long-term care homes—I strictly want to stay in community-based day programs.
Given my 10 years of experience and current certificates, is spending the time and money to get the official Rec Therapy diploma worth it "just in case"? Will it open doors or give me leverage in the community/non-profit sector, or am I already qualified enough based on my heavy experience?
Would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you've done the Canadore program or work in Ontario! Thanks in advance.

Hello! I’ve been wanting to go back to school and have been looking into different careers where I could work with children who have disabilities. Recreational therapy is one of the careers I’m most interested in, but I’d love to hear about the pros and cons of the field. I’m also wondering, do recreational therapists deal with a lot of death or end-of-life situations?
I’d really appreciate any advice, personal experiences, or other career suggestions you may have! I’m trying to expand my research and learn as much as I can before deciding what path to take. Thank you! 😊

Hi all! I’m looking into possibly going back to school to get my Masters in Fall 2027. I recently finished my Bachelor’s Degree and obtained certification in May. I currently work in IP Psych as an RT. I plan on continuing to work in IP psych and would like to get a Masters that would better support me in that population. I might look into leadership at some point, but for now, I’d want to further support what I am doing now. I’ve looked at RT, Health Admin, MSW, and Public Health masters. I would prefer to get my degree at Indiana University or one of their satellite schools. Does anyone have any recommendations?